A Guide to Animated Video Compatibility and Hosting Platform
Don’t upload your animated marketing videos just yet until you read this.
You know that sinking feeling when you’re all set to upload your latest video, only to be met with that dreaded pop-up?
“Video format not supported. Try again.”
Been there.
One time, we were wrapping up an explainer video only to realize it wouldn’t render properly.
Cue the frantic Google searches, last-minute troubleshooting, and just a tiny bit of panic.
That’s when we decided enough was enough.
We dug deep, cracked the code on formats, bitrates, and codecs, and made sure our videos worked everywhere.
We’re going to share what we’ve found works best for us with you.
Codecs
First things first . Codecs. Short for “compressor-decompressor,” these little algorithms are what make video files manageable. There are two main types:
- Lossy. Shrinks file size but can lower quality.
- Lossless. Keeps quality intact but doesn’t reduce file size.
We like to think we’ve mastered this whole codec thing.
We even optimized an advanced codec that keeps quality high while keeping files small.
The only tradeoff? Your device has to do a bit of heavy lifting to decode it. But with today’s tech, that’s not really a problem.
🔹 Best Choice for Animated Videos: H.264 (for general use) or ProRes (for editing before final export).
Frame Rate and Color Depth
Ever wonder how animation tricks your eyes?
It’s all because of frames per second (FPS). The number of still images shown in one second to create the illusion of movement.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
- 24–30 FPS. Standard for most videos
- 50–60 FPS. High-quality and smoother motion (great for action or sports content)
- 300 FPS+. Super slow-motion (because sometimes you just need to see every detail)
Stick to industry standards unless you have a specific reason not to.
🔹 Best Practice: For smoother animation playback, use Constant Bitrate (CBR) for uniform quality, or Variable Bitrate (VBR) for a balance between quality and file size.
Color Depth
Meanwhile, color depth refers to the number of colors a video can display, impacting its overall visual animation quality.
Higher color depth (like 10-bit or 12-bit) provides smoother gradients and richer colors.
It can reduces issues like banding, while lower color depth (8-bit) is more common and widely supported but may show color limitations.
- 8-bit: Standard quality, good for web.
- 10-bit+: Professional quality, better gradients and detail.
🔹 Best Practice: Animated videos typically look great at 24–30 fps with 8-bit color depth unless working on HDR content.
Read more: The Definitive Animated Marketing Survey Report for 2025
File Formats
Choosing the right file format affects whether your video will work on different platforms.
🔹 Best Choice: MP4 (H.264) for general use, WebM for web animations, ProRes for professional editing.
Bitrate and Compression
Bitrate measures how much data is processed per second (usually in Kbps or Mbps).
Higher bitrates mean better quality.
But here’s a little-known fact: A 720p video with an 8 Mbps bitrate can look better than a 1080p video with the same bitrate.
Why?
Because with more pixels to fill, that same amount of data gets stretched thin on a higher resolution video.
To keep things simple: match your bitrate to your resolution, and you’ll avoid pixelated disasters.
Recommended Bitrates for Animated Videos (H.264):
🔹 Best Practice: For smoother animation playback, use Constant Bitrate (CBR) for uniform quality, or Variable Bitrate (VBR) for a balance between quality and file size.
Choosing the Best Hosting Platform
So, now that you’ve got a killer animated video for your marketing campaign, where do you upload it?
Let’s compare some of the biggest players in the whole video marketing sphere:
- If you want maximum reach & discoverability: YouTube
- For premium, ad-free video hosting: Vimeo
- For business lead generation & website hosting: Wistia
- For enterprise-level solutions: Brightcove
- For an alternative video hosting platform: Dailymotion
But, what about social media in general? Are they such a good and FREE platforms too for animated videos?
Sure.
Social media platforms can be excellent free distribution channels for animated explainer videos, but their effectiveness depends on your goals.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of using social media for animated videos:
✅ Why Social Media is Great for Animated Videos ✅
- Free Exposure: No hosting costs; reach millions organically.
- Viral Potential: Engaging animations can get shares and go viral.
- Targeted Reach: Algorithms push content to interested users.
- Community Engagement: Easy to interact with viewers through comments and shares.
❌ Challenges of Social Media for Animated Videos ❌
- Shorter Lifespan: Posts get buried quickly unless they go viral.
- Algorithm Dependence: Reach is unpredictable; some posts flop.
- Length Restrictions: Many platforms favor short-form videos.
- Less Searchability: Harder to find older videos compared to YouTube or Vimeo.
You can do some A/B testing and see which the best platform that suits your type of animated video.
Or, if you’d rather save time and skip the guesswork, just reach out to us. We’ll make sure your explainer video finds its perfect home.
At Breadnbeyond, we craft cool, professional, animated explainer videos for your social media marketing strategy.
Check our works here.
Ready to jazz up your next social media campaign with a snazzy new video ad? Drop us a line. We’re all ears, and we’ve got a FREE consultation for you.
